Parry McCluer (5-4) at Eastern Montgomery (1-8)
WHEN: 7 p.m. on Friday WHERE: Eastern Montgomery High School in Elliston. Tickets are $7.
LAST YEAR: The PM defense held the Mustangs to just 72 yards of total offense and forced six turnovers in a 48-0 victory in Buena Vista. Among those turnovers was Zavion Dunn’s 90-yard interception return for a touchdown. Offensively, the Blues ran at will. Jacob Shafer, who also had a 93-yard interception return, led a group of seven different ball carriers, finishing with 95 yards on just eight carries. Jackson Brockenbrough scored three rushing touchdowns as the Blues closed out the regular season.
SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS: After snapping a six-game losing streak with a 50-12 win over Bland County, Eastern Montgomery dropped three straight contests heading into the bye week last Friday. The Mustangs are 2-17 over the last two seasons and haven’t posted a winning campaign since going 13-1 and reaching the state championship game in 2010. This year’s EM group is led by senior quarterback Chase Bierman, who leads the Mustangs in most offensive categories, having thrown for four touchdowns and having run for three others. His favorite target is sophomore receiver Kellan Stewart, EM’s leader in receiving yardage. Defensively, the Mustangs have not stopped a whole lot of people, surrendering 42.7 points per game to their three Pioneer District opponents thus far and a total of 328 points in nine games.
SCOUTING THE BLUES: Finally healthy with four injured starters returning to the lineup last Friday night, the Blues may have played their best game of the season in the 28-12 victory over Bath County. PM churned out 307 rushing yards, with both Jacob Shafer and Parker Snider going over the 100-yard mark. At the same time, the PM defense held the Chargers to under 200 yards, and that included a 56-yard touchdown pass after a blown coverage in the third quarter. More importantly, the Blues, who had been plagued by turnovers in their previous five contests, lost the ball only once against Bath County, and that came on a bobbled snap when PM was trying to draw an offsides penalty.
THE NEWS-GAZETTE’S PICK: When Eastern Montgomery posted back-to-back seasons with double-digit wins in 2009 and 2010, among those victories were two hard-fought wins against PM. Since the Mustangs joined the Pioneer District, however, the Blues have owned the series, winning eight in a row and averaging over 40 points per game. We do not think that is going to change this weekend. PM will close the season strong and head into the Region 1C playoffs with a 41-6 win.
